The art of motor vehicle design has developed numerous systems for signaling braking, turning, or other such actions by the vehicle's driver to the neighboring vehicles. The conventional brake lights used on vehicles are commonly activated upon pressing of the brake pedals. One of the shortcomings of conventional brake lights, however, is that they are activated to the exact same degree regardless of the degree of pressure applied to the brakes or stopping. That is, to neighboring drivers, the brake lights appear the same whether the driver slams on the brakes with all his might or whether the driver gently finesses the brake pedals. Thus, the neighboring drivers are not able to discern the degree of stopping from looking at the brake lights alone.
Several systems have been developed in order to improve upon these conventional brake light systems and better inform neighboring vehicles of the driver's impending actions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,115 to Browne, et al., for example, discloses a vehicle braking indicator system that provides a continuous lighting of the brake lights, under normal stopping conditions. When the anti-lock brakes (ABS) of the vehicle are activated, however, the system activates intermittent flashing of the brake lights, thus, indicating a more severe and sudden braking should be anticipated by neighboring cars. This system, however, has several shortcomings. First, the safety system does not become activated until the vehicle is already in an unsafe condition because it is not activated until the anti-lock braking system has been activated. Second, the system relies upon the vehicle's existing flashing mechanism in order to intermittently flash the vehicle's lights. Thus, the system does not add an additional flasher mechanism to the vehicle. Also, the system will not be activated if there is deceleration by other means, such as a collision with a stationary object. Moreover, because there is a large variation on the operation and activation of ABS systems, the system will not operate uniformly for vehicles produced by varying manufacturers. Finally, the system is comprised of a relatively complex system, which may be undesirable because of the additional costs and unreliability commonly associated with complex electronic systems.
Another such system is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,221 to Michelotti, which discloses a system that automatically activates hazard warning lights under circumstances of hard braking or sudden stoppage. The system uses an accelerometer, which measures the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle in order to determine hard braking conditions. When hard braking conditions are detected by the system, it operates to activate the vehicle's hazard lights. This system, however, operates by indicating hazards to other vehicles in the context of an emergency situation, rather than as an early warning of impending danger. Furthermore, by using an accelerometer, the system is subject to inaccuracies because accelerometers are commonly subject to vibration, lateral motion, vehicle tilt, and other such disturbances to the system.
Thus, there remains a long felt need in the art for an indicator system that provides the earliest possible warning to neighboring vehicles of a potential hazard by a driver, such as an emergency stop, without relying upon ABS-systems or accelerometers in order to operate.